Road Show at Encores! Off-Center (post your thoughts here)

Jus announced. Anyone else excited for this? I enjoyed the original production at the Public. I think the score is pretty damn great, but the overall story isn’t very compelling.
I’ve been listening to the score for the past few days and have been thinking I’d like to see another production of it, so it’s funny this was just announced.

Also, Working and Promenade will fill out the season.

Updated On: 7/23/19 at 04:39 PM

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/WORKING-A-MUSICAL-PROMENADE-and-ROAD-SHOW-Fill-Encores-Off-Center-2019-Season-20181218

WORKING: A MUSICAL will play June 26 through 29. An updated version of the show will be directed by Anne Kauffman and features a book by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, including songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers, and Susan Birkhead, and James Taylor.

PROMENADE will play a two-night-only presentation directed by Laurie Woolery.

ROAD SHOW, with music and lyrics Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman, will play July 24 through 27, and will be directed and choreographed by Will Davis.

Lin wrote those songs for Working about a decade ago for the production that played at the Old Globe, then at Chicago's Broadway Playhouse in 2011, and off-Broadway at 59E59 in 2012. It was a great production, and the new songs fit in well with the old ones. I believe there was a cast recording of the Old Globe production, but I am not 100% sure.

This looks like a great season! I've always considered Road Show to be underrated (Gary Griffin's production several years back made a great case for the piece), and Will Davis is a really exciting director making bold and interesting choices. And Promenade should be a great way to honor Maria Irene Fornes, who recently passed away. I urge anyone unfamiliar with her work to check her out--she was one of the greatest writers of experimental theatre of her time, but her work is not produced all that often today.

Saw the original incarnations of WORKING and ROAD SHOW at Chicago's Goodman Theater. (WORKING back then had a through story!) Liked BOUNCE much more than ROAD SHOW. After so much rewriting, it seems like they lost interest in the story. In any event, so happy they're doing PROMENADE. The cast recording is great, but by no means complete. It was the show that opened the off-Broadway Promenade Theater. A few years ago, Carmines' THE BONUS ARMY was revived at the Judson Church, where Carmines was once a minister. According to the revival's program, the score had to be reconstructed from performance tapes, which might explain why Carmines' work is rarely performed these days.

Updated On: 12/18/18 at 07:41 PM

I haven't gotten around to listening to the released cast album so maybe it'll just be easier to see Road Show to understand the songs in context. I usually find it easier to sit through an album as a way of revisiting a show rather than the other way around.

Will Davis is easily one of the most exciting, original theatre directors working today, and his penchant to drastically reinterpret the classics (his production of PICNIC in Chicago was a revelation) makes me super excited to see how he's going to take on this piece.

What a brilliant season they've curated for this. Long live Off-Center.

This cast actually got me excited about revisiting this show.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "ljay889 said: "I know the chances of a commercial run for Road Show is unlikely, but I can't help but think this feels likethe cast of a full fledged revival of the show. Wonderful and diverse choices."

This is a fabulous "one-week run off-Broadway" cast, but NONE of these names mean enough for a commercial run. Unless the Encores production got reviews on the level ofColor Purpleand some deep-pocketed risktaker or nonprofitwanted to try to move it to a smallish house before the Tony cutoff. And even then, it wouldn't be a sure bet."

I agree with you. The show has no chance of a commercial run. But this is a first rate cast. It feels like a top notch cast that Roundabout would pull together for a revival. A concert staging of Road Show didn’t necessarily need this strong of a cast, so I am rather impressed.

Updated On: 6/24/19 at 01:44 PM

My least favorite Sondheim score. I have tried and tried to listen to it all the through after the first listen. I am out to lunch but Raul makes it really enticing!

I got my ticket to see ROADSHOW and i am making a short trip to NYC in July...i love the score and have always wanted to see any production of this over-looked Sondheim musical...plus the casting sounds great to me...and i totally agree about "The Best Thing To Ever has Happen"...great love song and i believe Sondheim's one and only gay love song...